Everest Base Camp is melting

Everest Base Camp is melting

The BBC reported that Nepal is removing Everest Base Camp from the melting Khumbu Glacier.

Research suggests that the Khumbu Glacier is thinning rapidly due to the changing climate. Scott Watson, a researcher studying glaciers at the University of Leeds, told the BBC: "We see rock fall and meltwater movement on the surface of glaciers which can be dangerous."

The current base camp location is becoming unstable due to melting snow and is no longer safe. Climbers say the ground has cracked overnight, and guides say they expect more avalanches and more snow at the current location. The new base camp will be about 200 to 400 meters lower in elevation - and at a location that doesn't get snow throughout the year.

Climate change isn't the only contributing factor, however: the sheer number of people passing through Base Camp adds to the instability. Khimlal Gautam, a member of the committee that recommended the move, told the BBC: "For example, we found that people at the base camp urinate around 4,000 liters every day." "And the massive amount of fuel we burn there for cooking and heating, like kerosene and gas, will certainly have an effect on glacier ice."

Not only Base Camp, but the conditions on Everest are deteriorating rapidly. Other glaciers are melting, some are losing ice that took hundreds of years to develop. This is making the climb more dangerous. The thaw is also revealing the frozen, dead bodies and piles of garbage of past climbers.

Nepal's tourism department has discussed plans for the move with local stakeholders, including local communities that may be affected by the change. But if everything goes according to plan, the base camp can go ahead till 2024.